Revision as of 22:46, 18 January 2018

Oregon Hikers Field Guide: General Guidelines

The Oregon Hikers Field Guide, maintained by Trailkeepers of Oregon, is in need of editors who will commit some time to building this resource for the Oregon/southern Washington hiking community. The Field Guide covers hikes in the entire state of Oregon, southern Washington, and northern California. We could also include hikes from Idaho and Nevada near the Oregon border. We are in most urgent need of new hike postings in the following areas of Oregon and Washington:

• Southern Oregon, including the Coast
• Central and southern Oregon Cascades
• Oregon east of the Cascades
• Windy Ridge/Norway Pass area of Mt. St. Helens
• Dark Divide

In addition, we need editors who can review existing hike postings and enhance them as some are now ten years old. Hikes in two areas, in particular, need to be revised with an eye to current conditions:

• the Mount Hood area
• the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and Washington

While the Oregon Hikers Field Guide is constructed as a wiki, ten years of experience has taught us that random presentation of partially-completed material usually means that material will remain, well, partially completed for years on end. Thus, if you are going to enter a new hike, please ensure that you have all the information you need to complete the project, and make certain that you have set aside the time to do it. You cannot rely on other editors to somehow find your work and fill in the blanks.

Working on the Field Guide can be a rewarding experience that also involves some responsibility to the hiking public. Your work will be used by dozens, if not hundreds, of hikers over time. For most, using the html dialog box is a steep learning curve at first, and you should be prepared to spend time on your first effort, returning to it often until you think you've "got it." Over time, the process becomes easier, you will be able to work more quickly, and you won't need to refer to this guide!

Those working on the Field Guide use the html window visible when you click the View source link at the top of a page. To create a new page, it's most efficient to use a recently constructed existing page as a template and replace information. Four kinds of pages exist in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide:

Hike Pages

This page describes the hike. It gives hike statistics (elevation gain, distance, etc.) and difficulty along with a multi-paragraph description which includes interesting background information. Guidebooks and published maps that feature the hike are listed, and other links, such as official trail pages, are also given. Each hike fits multiple categories, and usually several pictures and a map are posted. Here are three examples:

• Salmon Creek Hike
• Abbott Butte Hike
• Mount Lowe from Graham Pass Hike

Trailhead Pages

This essential page gives precise directions to the trailhead. Sometimes more than one option is presented. The trailhead page is linked to the hike page and coordinates are given. Relevant fees are mentioned. In urban areas, a public transportation option is described. Some examples:

• Barklow West Trailhead
• Powell Butte Trailhead
• Flatiron Rock Trailhead

Destination Pages

These pages give a more detailed description of the hike's destination. There could be more than one destination page per hike as it may include several points of interest. There's a description, some links, and coordinates, for example:

• Nesmith Point
• Burnt Lake
• Mount Adams

Junction Pages

Junction pages give coordinates for and provide a photograph of trail junctions. The description is usually fairly minimal except in the case of unsigned junctions that may be difficult to locate. Junction pages are optional (It just depends how many way points you want to give). Here are some examples:

• Cedar Falls-Aldrich Butte Cutoff Trail Junction
• Pacific Crest-Tamanous Trail Junction
• Elkhorn Crest-Twin Lakes Trail Junction

Some Dos and Don'ts

DO

• Finish what you start! That means complete the hike page, trailhead page, destination pages, etc. before you go on to to another project. Don't leave pages hanging out there.
• Add the 'Under Development' category to your page if you're going to take more than a couple of days to finish; remember to delete it when you're done!
• Conduct some basic research so you can add interesting details about the hike/destination and the area it's in.
• Post all completed hikes in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide index.
• Edit spelling and grammar in existing pages.
• Add categories, correct coordinates and misinformation, etc., in existing pages.
• Replace poor pictures with better pictures (Use the Delete link at the top of the page to get rid of unwanted photos), and add photos where needed (See the Needs pics page).
• Update with new information, e.g. fire damage, reroutes, etc.
• Replace dead links and add new links.
• Put in clear GPS-based maps of the route if the current map is not a GPS track.
• Check the Field Guide Support forum regularly and respond to users' comments and corrections.
• Use the Field Guide Editors forum to engage in discussions with your fellow editors, share your work for critique, etc.
• Check the Field Guide before going out on a hike. If your hike is not in the Field Guide, consider taking detailed notes, including driving directions, so you can add it. If the hike is already in the Field Guide, compare the current entry with your experience and make corrections, add details and new photos, etc.

DON'T

• Plagiarize! You can quote and credit sources, but most of the writing should be your own.
• Expect others to finish a project for you. It's probably not going to happen. Only begin projects that you can finish yourself.
• Take forever to complete an entry; it's out there on the internet and people will be finding it. Finish the project in a reasonable amount of time (one to two weeks).
• Create a hike page if you can't provide detailed directions to the trailhead or have photographs.
• Create a random page that is not linked to any other page, e.g. a trailhead without actually writing up a hike that goes with it.
• Create dead links. If you link text, it needs to go somewhere (i.e. Create the page that goes with the link); otherwise, don't put in a hyperlink.
• Forget to post a new hike in the index.
• Forget about editing your own work. A day or two after completion, go back and read through your text; it's likely there will be a few typos and style errors that need to be corrected. It's only after your own final edit that you can consider a project complete.
• Forget about your creation now that it's done. You now "own" it, and you're the one most responsible for paying attention to and entering any updates that need to be made.

Deleting Pages and Changing Page Titles

Deletions

The most common deletion will be taking out old photos or maps and replacing them with better ones.

• Click on the map or photo to come up with that item's page.
• Click on the Delete link in the menu.
• Click on the Delete button.
• Usually, you're only deleting if you're replacing, so replace right away!

Changing Page Titles

This is a bigger job than you think if it is done properly, so don't do it unless you're prepared to put in the work.

• Click on the Move link in the menu.
• Type in the new title over the old title, give a reason, and click on the Save button.
• Now comes the time-consuming part. You will have to go to every place in the Field Guide which had the old title and change it. In the case of a Hike page, this includes:
  • the Field Guide index page
  • hike rings for trailheads
  • hike rings for destinations
  • hike rings for junctions
• For changing the titles of junctions, trailheads, and destinations, it is similarly a multi-page effort.

If you're ready to begin working on the Field Guide, go to the instructions for one of these kinds of pages:

 Creating a Hike page  |   Creating a Trailhead page  |   Creating a Destination page  |   Creating a Junction page